Board Memberships and Affiliations

Founder

Guilford Youth Football League

Member

Army Air Core

Education

B.S.
,
marketing

Ron volunteered his time to help build the Guilford High School bleachers and has assisted Bo Mooradian as the spotter for all home varsity football games.

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Bo MooradianAssistant Coach & AnnouncerBo is now in his 12th year as a football coach at Guilford High School.
He is a graduate of Kent State University where he earned a B.S. in marketing and played four years of football.Bo moved to Guilford in 1968 and played a large role in establishing the Guilford Youth Football League where he coached for 29 years!Bo was also instrumental in petitioning Guilford High School for an 11 man football team that began in 1972.
Bo sees double duty as the public announcer for all home varsity football games where he has had nearly perfect attendance since 1972.

And for Bo Mooradian, Guilford High School's football announcer since 1973, the game he loves is highly cerebral.Football, he knows, is a game of intelligence and technique."These days, the systems and schemes these kids run are really sophisticatedâ€"zone blocking, for example, or the spread offense," he says."In so many ways, the game has become more analytical."But Bo remembers a time when football was less schematic.Growing up in Cleveland, he played football on the blacktop of neighborhood streets, dodging cars and skinning his knees to the bone."We'd split ourselves up and playâ€"no pads or anything," Bo says."Some kids even got their teeth knocked out."So yes, football was in his blood, and Bo was a bruiser, too.He was a 235-pound lineman with big hands and good feet.A left tackle by trade, he excelled at the high school level and was looking forward to going off to college and competing against better competition.However, the country was at war and like most healthy young men from his generation, Bo joined the service and became a member of the Army Air Core during World War II."I was a control tower operator," he says."It was my job to keep the pilots and everyone else calm and on point."Upon returning home from active duty, Bo went to Kent State University, where he played football against many legendary players and coaches, including Don Shula, formerly of the Miami Dolphins.Now, more than 50 years later, Bo looks back on his playing days and remembers the lessons he learned on the football field."Discipline and teamwork," he says."You learn how to be part of something bigger than yourself."What's most astonishing, though, is that these core values are still part of the game.Bo wouldn't have it any other way, either.As an assistant coach for Guilford's freshman football team, Bo stresses the importance of accountability, preparation, and the use of proper technique.Still, he likes kids who go out there and hit anything that moves."You play hard and you hit hard," he says."But when you come to the sidelines, you're a gentleman."On the field, Bo doesn't believe in trash-talking or show-boating, but when it comes tackling, there's nothing more exciting than lowering a shoulder and driving right through your opponent, head up and eyes open, of courseâ€"don't forget, good technique means everything to Bo.And from his seat in the broadcast booth at Guilford High School, Bo's certainly seen his share of bone-crushing hits."I've got the best seat in the house," he says.But what really gets him going is the announcing, the play-by-play investment in each quarter of every game.What sets Bo apart from other announcers, however, is his impartiality.He prides himself on remaining objective."I try to be fair to both teams," he says."A good run is a good run, regardless of who makes it."Bo has a broadcasting style of his own, too, and his aesthetic, admittedly, is understated.

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When it comes to the game, it's not his show, and Bo is quick to point this out.He doesn't want to deflect attention away from the players."I just do what I do without any editorializing or flashy stuff," he says.Yet Bo isn't shy when it comes to talking about his passion for Guilford football.Of course there are ups and downs and Bo has learned to take the good with the bad.Regardless of the team's record, the kids are always upbeat and enthusiastic.Actually, one of Bo's favorite pastimes is joking around with the players."We like to poke fun at each other.We goof around and laugh a lot," Bo says.

But, like soldiers who have been away from home too long, the sight of their own locker room, the sound of game announcer Bo Mooradian's baritone, and the brilliant green of Kavanaugh's new artificial turf were, well, unfamiliar.